It is the purpose of this chapter to promote
the public health, safety and general welfare, and to
minimize public and private losses due to flood conditions in specific
areas by provisions designed to:
A.
Regulate uses which are dangerous to health, safety
and property due to water or erosion hazards or which result in damaging
increases in erosion or in flood heights or velocities;
B.
Require that uses vulnerable to floods, including
facilities which serve such uses, be protected against flood damage
at the time of initial construction;
C.
Control the alteration of natural floodplains, stream
channels and natural protective barriers which are involved in the
accommodation of floodwaters;
D.
Control filling, grading, dredging and other development
which may increase erosion or flood damages;
E.
Regulate the construction of flood barriers which
will unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards
to other lands; and
F.
Qualify for and maintain participation in the National
Flood Insurance Program.
The objectives of this chapter are to:
A.
Protect human life and health;
B.
Minimize expenditure of public money for costly flood
control projects;
C.
Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated
with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general
public;
D.
Minimize prolonged business interruptions;
E.
Minimize damage to public facilities and utilities
such as water and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines,
streets and bridges located in areas of special flood hazard;
F.
Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the
sound use and development of areas of special flood hazard so as to
minimize future flood blight areas;
G.
Provide that developers are notified that property
is in an area of special flood hazard; and
H.
Ensure that those who occupy the areas of special
flood hazard assume responsibility for their actions.
A.
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases
used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning
they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable
application. The definitions used herein shall not apply to any other
chapter of the Village Code.
B.
APPEAL
AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING
AREA OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD
BASE FLOOD
BASEMENT
BUILDING
CELLAR
CRAWL SPACE
CRITICAL FACILITIES
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
CUMULATIVE SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
DEVELOPMENT
ELEVATED BUILDING
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
FLOOD or FLOODING
(1)
(2)
FLOOD BOUNDARY AND FLOODWAY MAP (FBFM)
FLOOD ELEVATION STUDY
FLOOD HAZARD BOUNDARY MAP (FHBM)
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM)
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY
FLOODPLAIN or FLOOD-PRONE AREA
FLOODPROOFING
FLOODWAY
FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT USE
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR
LOWEST FLOOR
MANUFACTURED HOME
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION
MEAN SEA LEVEL
MOBILE HOME
NEW CONSTRUCTION
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD or 100-YEAR FLOOD
PRINCIPALLY ABOVE GROUND
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
REGULATORY FLOODWAY
START OF CONSTRUCTION
STRUCTURE
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
(1)
(2)
VARIANCE
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
A request for a review of the local administrator's interpretation
of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.
A designated AO, AH or VO Zone on a community's Flood Insurance
Rate Map (FIRM) with a one-percent-or-greater annual chance of flooding
to an average annual depth of one to three feet where a clearly defined
channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable
and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized
by ponding or sheet flow.
The land in the floodplain within a community subject to
a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. This
area may be designated as Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A1-A30, A99, V, VO,
VE, or V1-V30. It is also commonly referred to as the base floodplain
or 100-year floodplain. For purposes of this chapter, the term "special
flood hazard area (SFHA)" is synonymous in meaning with the phrase
"area of special flood hazard."
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equalled or
exceeded in any given year.
That portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
See "structure."
Has the same meaning as "basement."
An enclosed area beneath the lowest elevated floor, 18 inches
or more in height, which is used to serve the underside of the lowest
elevated floor. The elevation of the floor of this enclosed area,
which may be of soil, gravel, concrete or other material, must be
equal to or above the lowest adjacent exterior grade. The enclosed
crawl space area shall be properly vented to allow for the equalization
of hydrostatic forces which would be experienced during periods of
flooding.
Structures or facilities that produce, use or store highly volatile,
flammable, explosive, toxic and/or water-reactive materials;
Hospitals, nursing homes, and housing likely to contain occupants
who may not be sufficiently mobile to avoid death or injury during
a flood;
Police stations, fire stations, vehicle and equipment storage
facilities, and emergency operations centers that are needed for flood
response activities before, during, and after a flood; and
Public and private utility facilities that are vital to maintaining
or restoring normal services to flooded area before, during and after
a flood.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure that equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the
structure at the time of the improvement or repair when counted cumulatively
for 10 years.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage
of equipment or materials.
A nonbasement building built, in the case of a building in
Zones A1-A30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH, B, C, X or D, to have the top of
the elevated floor or, in the case of a building in Zones V1-30, VE
or V, to have the bottom of the lowest horizontal structure member
of the elevated floor elevated above the ground level by means of
pilings, columns (posts and piers) or shear walls parallel to the
flow of the water and adequately anchored so as not to impair the
structural integrity of the building during a flood of up to the magnitude
of the base flood. In the case of Zones A1-A30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH,
B, C, X or D, elevated building also includes a building elevated
by means of fill or solid foundation perimeter walls with openings
sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded movement of floodwaters. In
the case of Zones V1-V30, VE or V, elevated building also includes
a building otherwise meeting the definition of elevated building,
even though the lower area is enclosed by means of breakaway walls
that meet the federal standards.
The federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance
Program.
Flood or flooding also means the collapse or
subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water
as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents
of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused
by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied
by a severe storm or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as
a flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual
and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in (1)(a)
above.
An official map of the community published by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency as part of a riverine community's Flood
Insurance Study. The FBFM delineates a regulatory floodway along watercourses
studied in detail in the Flood Insurance Study.
An examination, evaluation and determination of the flood
hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations,
or an examination, evaluation and determination of flood-related erosion
hazards.
An official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, where the boundaries of the areas of special flood
hazard have been designated as Zone A but no flood elevations are
provided.
An official map of a community on which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard
and the risk-premium zones applicable to the community.
See "flood elevation study."
Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from
any source. (See definition of "flooding.")
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood
damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary
facilities, structures and their contents.
Has the same meaning as "regulatory floodway."
A use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it
is located or carried out in close proximity to water such as a docking
or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo
or passengers, shipbuilding and ship repair facilities. The term does
not include long-term storage, manufacturing, sales or service facilities.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior
to construction, next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register
of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of the
Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior
as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National
Registry;
Certified or preliminarily determined by the
Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance
of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined
by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
Individually listed on a state inventory of
historic places in states with historic preservation programs which
have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
Individually listed on a local inventory of
historic places in communities with historic preservation programs
that have been certified either:
The person appointed by the community to administer and implement
this chapter by granting or denying development permits in accordance
with its provisions.
Lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement
or cellar). An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely
for parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other
than a basement area is not considered a building's lowest floor,
provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure
in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of
this chapter.
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without
a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The
term does not include a "recreational vehicle."
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the
National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, the North American
Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), or other datum, to which base flood
elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.
Has the same meaning as "manufactured home."
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation
adopted by the community and includes any subsequent improvements
to such structure.
Has the same meaning as "base flood."
At least 51% of the actual cash value of the structure, excluding
land value, is above ground.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Four hundred square feet or less when measured
at the largest horizontal projections;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently
towable by a light duty truck; and
Not designed primarily for use as a permanent
dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping,
travel or seasonal use.
The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a flood insurance study or by other agencies as provided in § 115-14B(2) of this chapter.
The date of permit issuance for new construction and substantial
improvements to existing structures, provided that the actual start
of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition
placement, or other improvement is within 180 days after the date
of issuance. The actual start of construction means the first placement
of permanent construction of a building (including a manufactured
home) on a site, such as the pouring of a slab or footings, installation
of pilings or construction of columns. Permanent construction does
not include land preparation (such as clearing, excavation, grading,
or filling), or the installation of streets or walkways, or excavation
for a basement, footings, piers or foundations, or the erection of
temporary forms, or the installation of accessory buildings such as
garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the
main building. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of
construction means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor,
or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration
affects the external dimensions of the building.
A walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage
tank, that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured
home.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred. Substantial damage also means flood-related damages
sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten-year
period for which the cost of repairs at the time of such flood event,
on the average, equals or exceeds 25% of the market value of the structure
before the damage occurred.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement
of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market
value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.
Substantial improvement also means "cumulative substantial improvement."
The term includes structures which have incurred substantial damage,
regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not,
however, include either:
Any project for improvement of a structure to
correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or
safety code specifications which have been identified by the local
code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure
safe living conditions; or
Any alteration of an Historic structure, provided
that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an Historic structure.
A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which
permits construction or use in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited
by this chapter.
